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The old practice of paying employees the thirteenth salary at the end of the fiscal year has become an exception today, because according to union estimates, only one percent of workers who have the privilege of working in some foreign companies or state and local public companies receive it. This practically means that before the New Years or Christmas holidays, only 45,000 people in Serbia deposit money into their accounts as a reward for a successfully completed business year.
This year, it is estimated that the figure will be even lower because the coronal virus pandemic has left consequences in successful foreign and national companies, and an additional brake is that the State should give another 64% for this expense, through taxes and contributions. . In other words, even for companies that made an enviable profit at the end of the business year, the bond is an expensive toy they avoid buying for their workers. That is why entrepreneurs who have had the practice of distributing bonuses from profits, abandon it because, in addition to high taxes, they also fear the uncertainty related to the duration of the crisis caused by the corona pandemic virus.
There were no such levies until 2014, because the employees’ thirteenth salary had the character of capital income and no taxes and contributions paid for salaries were paid. However, that year the Labor Law was amended, which stipulates that an employment contract or the decision of an employer can determine the employee’s share of the earnings obtained in the business year, but what is earned on the basis of rewards , bonuses and other benefits are also included in the salary. .
Ranka Savić from the Association of Independent Trade Unions tells “Blic Biznis” that these changes have led to the fact that bonuses in Serbian companies have become a rarity and a synonym for some time.
“That is why a small number of employees in Serbia received 13 salaries. According to our estimates, around one percent of employees or close to 45,000 workers have had that privilege so far. I think that number will be significantly lower this year due to to the economic crisis caused by the Kovid pandemic “. 19. I believe that wages in Serbia would be paid by more employers if they were not taxed, so we intend to take the initiative not to tax them, as is the case in the European Union, where, for example, 55% of German employers pay the so-called “In our country, due to these high taxes, foreign companies, which have this practice in their countries of origin, are abandoning it because they should allocate 64 percent to the state,” Savic said.
He adds that in addition to foreign companies, at the end of a successful year, some other public companies also pay their salaries.
There are also some national companies that have preserved this old tradition, but they can be counted on the fingers of one hand. In many European countries there are special benefits for those who give their employees Christmas bonuses and thus seek to further stimulate workers in the end. There are no incentives in our country, so Serbian employers today do not see the meaning of such “generosity” towards workers, although they contributed significantly to their earnings at the end of the business year, so we cannot boast of paying the 13 ° salary. in addition to foreign companies, certain public and state municipal, municipal and republican companies pay. In their collective agreements and employment contracts, it is defined that a certain percentage of the realized profit must be distributed to the employees through the 13th salary, ”says Savić.
While employers in EU countries publicly boast of having rewarded their workers who have contributed to the success of their companies, in Serbia this information is hidden from the public, especially when it comes to public companies. Bonus payments are treated as a trade secret and, when leaked to the public, often cause public outrage.
“A small number of workers in Serbia have a salary number 13, and there are many more employees who can never receive a regular salary. There are at least 200,000 workers whose salary is still behind and do not receive it regularly, so the history of bonuses in public companies is unacceptable for them. That is why this data is not disclosed, “say the unions of public companies.
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